Paul Revere’s Untold Story

Recommendable! Paul Revere was also a successful businessman and driver of the industrial revolution in North America.

"... One of America’s First Mass Producers

In 1775, Paul Revere was a silversmith who created custom items that ranged from silverware to jewelry. ...

But the 1790s was an era that saw massive amounts of change in the new country of the United States. ... the cotton gin was invented which made the mass cultivation of cotton possible ... the early phases of the Industrial Revolution started taking place in the North.

At this time, Paul Revere took the profits he made from silversmithing and reinvested them in constructing a large furnace so that he could work with iron. By reusing the same molds, he was able to mass produce items like stoves, ovens, window frames, and fireplace backs. His methods were crude by today’s standards, and they required skilled laborers to guide and supervise the entire process because automation was not technologically possible, but the system he developed would be the foundation for the industrial revolution.

From Craftsmen to Wage Earners

Paul Revere’s manufacturing process was innovative at its time and he was really part of the first generation of people to experience and navigate the Industrial Revolution. While his factory mass produced everyday items, his later work was famous for the production of church bells and canons. ...

Meanwhile, the factory was producing many items that required skilled labor but not at a high level. Up until this point in time, everyone working in this field was familiar with the apprentice system because it was the only thing that existed. For many trades, the transition from this to the wage system brought a lot of stiff resistance from the people making a good living in that field.

Revere began his career as a craftsman, but at this point he had evolved into a business owner and needed to manage people. He managed his workers during this transition by allowing them to work flexible hours, paying wages based on skill levels, and allowing his workers to drink on the job.

Technological Convergence in New England

As a business leader, Revere’s main advantage was that his experience as a craftsman gave him the technical skills needed to revolutionize his production process during the unique time in which he lived. But he also enjoyed the secondary benefit of his geography. New England was where the roots of the American Industrial Revolution began and Boston was in the center of that region. Paul Revere was able to benefit from a shared pool of knowledge of others familiar with his trade which allowed him to innovate his processes even further. ...

In 1801, Revere opened America’s first copper foundry and his location benefited him further because as New England started to become industrialized, he was able to supply new businesses with products they now needed. The Revere Copper Company still exists today with divisions in Massachusetts and New York. ..."

Paul Revere’s Untold Story - Foundation for Economic Education Paul Revere was also a great American businessman and one of America's first mass producers.